Microsoft for February’s Patch Tuesday has released an advanced notification about the upcoming security patches. Microsoft will be issuing 12 updates fixing 22 vulnerabilities, out of which three are 0-day vulnerabilities. These patches will update Windows operating system, Internet Explorer, and the Visio software.

Three bulletins, including the Internet Explorer patch, earn the most severe “Critical” rating. The remaining nine, including the Visio fix, earn a still significant “Important” score. All the patches excluding three of the fixes will need a reboot.

The following table summarizes the security bulletins for this month in order of severity.

The patches will be released on Tuesday, February 8, 2011, at 10:00am PST. Microsoft will host a webcast to address customer questions on the security bulletins on February 9, 2011, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada).